


Life of Korrin

by palsinabox



Series: RPG Characters [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Backstory, Clerics, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, M/M, Original Player Characters, Paladins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 02:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20789078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/palsinabox/pseuds/palsinabox
Summary: Some background stories in the life of Korrin Hender, my D&D 5e Cleric of Oghma.For use with my role playing tables, but feel free to read if it makes you happy.





	1. Alone with the Horses - Age 10 Part 1

**~Age 10~**

Little Korrin Hender was the youngest of seven children, the oldest ones already almost grown by the time he came along. In fact, his oldest nephew was only a few years younger than he was. So he had always known that it would only be a matter of time before he alone would be a child, but he hadn't expected the day to come so soon. 

His favorite sister, Janica, only one year his senior, was now engaged, a political arrangement made by their father to a man ten years older than her. Now while they should have been playing and riding horses together, she was learning about the customs of her future husband's home. 

Even for someone as cheerful and easy going as Korrin, it was difficult to forgive his father for causing him to lose time with Janica during what was supposed to be the last few years of freedom for both of them. Since he could not hate his father, he found himself feeling bitter towards his future brother-in-law even though he had never met him. 

Of course he knew that he could play with his nephew, Ervander, but they had never been particularly close and he really just wanted to play with his sister. 

Currently the boy was in the stables, brushing his and Janica's horses, something they usually did together. 

"Good girl, Lavender," he cooed at his before turning to her animal. "And you, Daisy. You two are just as sad as I am about not getting to play today, aren't you?"

He sighed. 

On top of everything, his sister's betrothal brought his own situation to the forefront of his mind. He had never really thought very hard about it, but he did not have much of a purpose. His oldest brother, of course, was set to take over for their father. The second had become a priest, the third a knight, and the fourth was in training to become a knight. Even his sisters had all been helpful in securing alliances for his family. 

What was he supposed to be?

As the seventh child and fifth son, he had no real purpose. His father's line had been secured long before he had come along and he could help in any political way. He certainly did not seem the type to become a knight. He was far too forgiving and no where near strong enough. He had never been in a fight in his life. 

Perhaps Groben had the right idea, though. A priest was something anyone could be, wasn't it? He liked to help people. He enjoyed praying and learning about the gods. You didn't have to be strong or fast to be a priest. It was something that his parents would be proud of. Maybe it would be a good role for him. 

He was sure that his brother could get him accepted at his temple, though Korrin did not know very much about Oghma. He could learn, though. 

"What do you think, girls?" he asked the horses. "Should I follow on Groben's foot steps? He's always been good to me and I think it would please Father and Mother."

Lavender snorted and ate some hay. 

Korrin laughed. 

"It's settled then," he responded. "I'll write to Groben."

With that resolved, he hung up the brush and headed back for the house.


	2. Meeting - Age 10 Part 2

**~10 Years Old~**

Korrin had been at the Temple of Oghma in Luskan for six months now and he had never been so happy. 

His parents had always been distant because of their political careers, but he was a forgiving child and he understood that they were too busy to spend much time with him, leaving the raising of him and his siblings to nurses and tutors. Here at the temple, though, people had been very attentive to him as a person and him as a student. He even appreciated when he got scolded because it meant there was an adult around to care about what he was doing. It was amazing.

On top of that, there were so many other children around, which was great since he had made the choice to join the temple because of his loneliness back at home. He had made at least twenty new friends and they all seemed to really like him, which was something he had only ever gotten from his sister, Janica, in the past. He found that he really loved being one of fifty children around his age (between those actually part of his class and the paladin-initiates). There was always so much going on and always someone to talk to.

Although he had been educated since the age of five, many here had had no formal education until they came to the temple. Because of that, out of the fifty first year students (ranging typically from age 9 to eleven), they were split for much of the day between those who needed more basic education and those who could progress more quickly. They also were split at different times of the day between those who were here to become priests (around 30), those who wanted to become paladins (10), and those who were not committed to either lifestyle (10). There were some classes, like History and Religion, that were shared by all fifty, though. 

The history lecture had just ended, but Korrin had not been paying that much attention. Instead, he had not been able to keep his eyes off of the red haired boy in the row in front of him that had the book on his desk upside down. He honestly had not seemed to notice the mistake until, after three times turning the page as a class, he had come across a picture. Of course he had seen that the picture was upside down and righted the book, but had he really not known before that?

"Hey, Korrin," a girl beside him said. "Do you want to go out to the yard with us?"

"Not right now, Simi," he responded as he picked up his books. "I... I have something that I want to do. Thank you for asking, though!"

He gave her a bright smile and she left with her friends.

Once most people had cleared out, he wandered up to the boy and quickly realized how much bigger the redhead was than him. He hadn't noticed from behind, but this boy was at least two years older than him, if not a bit more. He could easily be the oldest child in this class, in fact.

"Hi," he greeted with a friendly smile, putting his hand out to shake. "My name is Korrin. What's your name?"

The older boy blinked in confusion as if he had never been asked for his name before. Given the stern expression that the guy wore, Korrin supposed it was possible that people did not often come up and introduce themselves.

"Leo," he answered in a cautious tone as he stood and picked up his book.

When he rose, Korrin's eyes widened in awe. He was so tall! This kid had to be at least 5'7 already! Most people in the class were about his height.

"Wow! You're so tall!" he said as he thought it. "That's so cool! You look really strong, too."

A blush appeared on Leo's cheeks and the blonde realized that he had spoken out of turn. Of course making a big deal about him would not make the shy child open up to him. How thoughtless! He would need to think things like this through before he acted.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized quickly with a laugh, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "I just... I noticed that you seemed to be having some trouble with your book and I was thinking that I might be able to help you... If you want it, that is! Sorry, this is probably really insulting. I should probably just go..."

He turned to leave when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at Leo questioningly.

Leo nodded, looking like it was difficult for him. This struggle was clearly wounding his pride.

"I could use some help actually..." he responded.

"Oh! Great!" Korrin said with a friendly smile. "Not great that you need help, but great that I can help. Let's go into the Great Hall and we can have another look at that book, okay?"

"Thanks," Leo replied, going with him.


	3. End of the Day (Leo's POV) - Korrin 12/Leo 14

**~Leo at 14/Korrin at 12~**

Leo hit the ground hard, sliding almost two feet along the dirt on his shoulder and upper back. The sound of leather scraping against earth roared in his ears before he was aware of the pain he felt from the unforgiving scrape it had torn in the flesh of his right bicep. Despite this, he struggled to his feet and forced himself to pick up his training sword, breathing heavily and almost unable to bear the weight in his exhaustion.

"Good," Captain Saldine praised. "But you're going to have to get up faster next time. I've decided that I'll be taking you with me when I leave this time."

The teenager stared in surprise for a moment. 

This was what he had been waiting for ever since Captain Saldine had taken him back to Luskan with him from his home in Mirabar with the promise of someday training under him as his squire if he worked hard and performed up to expectations. Every time that the man had left on a quest or mission for the past two years, Leo had hoped that it would be the time when he was finally deemed worthy. He had done everything that had ever been asked of him and he was going to be rewarded for his hard work at last.

"I won't let you down, Captain," he responded once he found his voice.

"I know you won't, kid," the man replied. "We're leaving in two days. Get your things together by then."

The boy nodded, never one for excess speech, and turned to go inside and get cleaned up.

Paladin initiates stayed in the barracks like the actual knights did, but no one tended to talk to him when he was there. In fact, the three other teenagers who were there when he started to change out of his training armor all stopped talking awkwardly when he came into the room. They left the room as he finished up. Even if he had wanted to talk to them, there was never a chance to.

There was a time when that would have bothered him. He had never done anything to deserve isolation from others. He was honest, loyal, and trustworthy, all things that people usually wanted in a friend. But he knew that he did not have a friendly demeanor and few were willing to look past his rough exterior to see his good qualities.

Except Korrin.

As he had that thought, the little future-priest appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, Leo," the blonde greeted with a smile.

"Hey," he responded, going over to the younger boy. "Let's go for a walk."

Even though Korrin was the more outgoing of the two, it was Leo who usually made the plans for the two of them when they spent time together. The redhead was organized and kept track of time much better than the blonde did. Not to mention the fact that his need to protect his only friend meant that he also felt the need to control their activities and make sure that they were safe. Korrin never seemed to mind, though. Korrin never seemed to mind any of his less desirable qualities.

He started to walk out, expecting to be followed and the younger boy scurried along beside him. The acolyte always seemed to bounce more than walk somehow. Normally that would bother the pragmatic Leo, but somehow it seemed to suit Korrin.

"Captain Saldine thinks I'm ready to start my training," he stated after the two of them were alone in the garden. "He's taking me with him when he leaves in two days. I can finally start to really prove myself to him."

He glanced over at his friend to see the reaction and saw two emotions flash over Korrin's face: joy for the good news, but then sadness.

"What's the matter?" Leo asked. "I thought you'd be happy for me."

"Oh, I am," Korrin assured him quickly. "I just realized how much I'm going to miss you. I'm sure you'll only be gone for a month or so, but it will feel like a long time without you. You won't notice because you'll be so busy, but it's going to be very obvious for me. I'm very happy for you, though."

Whenever Korrin spoke, he always seemed to say a lot all at once. It was something that Leo usually found almost... cute about his friend. This time, though, it made him feel really guilty. The blonde was his only friend and he had not thought about how his accomplishment would affect him. He would definitely miss Korrin if he were the one who was left behind at the temple, after all.

"I'll write you," Leo promised. "Every time I think of you."

Korrin smiled brightly, causing butterflies to do back flips in the older boy's stomach. He didn't know what it was about the little blonde, but he always caused big reactions in him. Friendship was an overly emotional bond in Leo's brief experience.

"That would be great," he replied. "I can't wait to hear all about all of the exciting places that you're going to see! Though you probably won't think of me _that_ often since you'll be so busy. Even one or two letters would be great!"

Almost as soon as Korrin had finished speaking, a bell could be heard ringing, signaling to the entire temple that dinner was ready in the Great Hall.

"Oh!" the shorter boy said. "We'd better hurry or we'll be late!"

"Mmm hmm," Leo agreed.

The two started towards the Great Hall, the smaller seeming to take two steps for every one that his friend took. Leo glanced over at Korrin and thought about how silly the blonde was to believe that he wouldn't think about him. He made a note to bring a _lot_ of paper.


	4. Missed (Leo's POV) - Korrin 13/Leo 15

**~Leo 15/Korrin 13~**

Leo's first mission with Captain Saldine had gone on for much longer than expected. The knight had been called off immediately after one problem had been solved to face another until they had been away for six months. The squire had learned so much, but he was a bit travel weary at this point. It would be a relief to be back at the temple. He was especially anxious to see Korrin.

Before he had left, he had always thought that his friendship with the younger boy was purely platonic. Since Korrin was his only friend, he really did not have much to compare the relationship to. While he was gone, though, he found his mind wandering to thoughts about the blonde that he had never had before.

After three nights in a row of not sleeping a few months back, Captain Saldine had forced Leo to open up to him and they had talked about it. The man had helped him come to the conclusion that he had a crush on Korrin. Their whole relationship actually seemed to be colored in a different light when he heard Captain Saldine's version of what he himself was saying. He now wondered if their friendship had really been more of a romantic relationship and he had not noticed before.

Either way, he was anxious to see Korrin and talk to him about this. He had never been good at talking about feelings, but he would just have to force himself to get over it.

He did not have to wait long because the acolyte that he had been thinking of found him as soon as he had finished stabling his horse.

"Leo!" Korrin said excitedly. "I saw Captain Saldine come in and I hurried over to find you as quickly as I could! I'm so happy to see you back! Tell me everything!"

The blonde looked up at the taller young man with a bright smile and Leo found himself devoid of the ability to speak. He was not often tongue tied with Korrin, but looking at the other certainly confirmed for him what his mentor had suggested. He was definitely in love with his best friend.

Instead of saying anything and risking the chance of sounding foolish, he grabbed Korrin and pulled him in to kiss him without warning.

The younger boy was surprised but quickly responded as best as he could. The kiss ended too quickly for Leo, but he noticed with some relief that Korrin was smiling after.

In fact, the boy all out laughed, making the young paladin smile a little in return, an expression that rarely graced his face.

"What was that for?" the blonde asked happily.

"I just missed you," Leo answered, gaining confidence from the fact that Korrin seemed pleased with the action. "Come on. Let's go eat and I'll tell you what happened."

He grabbed the blonde's hand, another first, and pulled him along.

On their way, a girl that Leo recognized as Korrin's friend stopped and looked at the two questioningly.

"Why are you holding hands?" she asked in confusion.

"That's our business," the redhead pointed out, his voice as serious as ever now that thins had settled down.

The blonde laughed softly one more time as the girl scurried away, startled.

"Be nice," he requested, smiling up at the paladin-in-training.

He looked down at the younger boy and his face softened a little. What he wouldn't do for that smile...

While he was looking down, Korrin took that moment to lean up and kiss him one more time. When they pulled away, Leo couldn't help but smile.

"There," the blonde said. "What's what I'm going to have to do to make you look nice to other people. It makes your face less grumpy."

The redhead paused a moment in surprise before chuckling softly. His own laughter was quickly joined by Korrin's as they went inside.

This was definitely something Leo could get used to.


	5. Home - Age 14

**~Korrin 14/Leo 16~**

If it were up to Korrin, he would never return to his home in the Icewind Dales. While he loved his family, they were not like him. Most of them were engrossed in either politics or wars, two things that he had absolutely no affinity for. He also received the occasional visit from his siblings when they were traveling, so he really felt no need to go home.

Unfortunately, it was not always up to him. On multiple occasions, his father had demanded that he come home for a wedding, funeral, or other notable event. His older brother Groben also tended to force him to go with him whenever he visited their parents, though they had very little interaction at the temple. But the current reason for a trip home held even less weight for the normally sunny young man.

Father Maximus, who Korrin held above all others of their temple as a shining example of what a true priest of Oghma should be, had asked him to deliver a letter to his father. He had asked why Groben could not do it, but the head priest had insisted that Korrin himself go and that Groben had other more pressing things to attend to. Since he could never deny the older man direct requests out of respect, the blonde hesitantly agreed and packed his things.

When he was getting ready to make the journey, Leo appeared at the door of the room that he slept in with several other acolytes.

"Come to see me off?" he asked his boyfriend.

"No," Leo answered. "I'm going with you. I told Captain Saldine that I needed to go and protect you."

Korrin looked surprised and then frowned.

"You were supposed to use your time off to visit your family," he pointed out. "They're going to miss you and you will be sorry that you didn't go. I can make it to the Icewind Dales on my own. I grew up there."

Leo shook his head.

"That's out of the question," he responded. "It's far too dangerous for you to go alone. I'm going with you. End of discussion."

Korrin understood that Leo worried about him and did not trust anyone else (least of all Korrin himself) to look after him, so he did not press the issue. It was not worth getting into a fight about, anyway. He would feel bad that Leo had not gotten to see his parents, but he would be glad for the company. His sister, Janica, was preparing for her wedding, so it was not like he would be able to spend time with her. He might as well have his lover to himself for a couple of weeks.

"Okay," he agreed. "I guess it will be nice to take a trip together. We've never gotten to do that before. And you can see where I grew up. Then you can understand my stories a little better."

He smiled at up the redhead.

-o-o-o-

Almost a week later

-o-o-o-

After finally making it to Korrin's childhood home, the two put their things down in his room. They had arrived after dinner, so his mother had the cook throw something together that they could eat in the kitchen, after which Leo went back to Korrin's room to wait. The blonde brought the letter that he had been given to his father in his study. He did not even bother to close the door behind him since his parents rarely gave him more than a minute of their time and he expected no more from this visit.

"Father, this is for you," he said as he presented the scroll. "Father Maximus said that it was very important and wanted me to deliver it myself."

Ervander took the scroll and looked it over, frowning.

"I will attend to it tomorrow and send a reply as soon as possible," he told his seventh child. "I imagine you will be back in your temple before the end of the week. I won't delay you longer than that. Your mother simply doesn't have time for this visit right now with your sister's wedding fast approaching."

"Yes, sir," Korrin agreed, not wanting to be a bother.

"And who is that that you've brought with you?" Ervander asked. "A guard of some kind? The temple doesn't trust you to walk by yourself now?"

Korrin blushed immediately, not sure what to say to that. He did not want to lie to his father, but he also knew that his father would not approve. Honestly, this was the most attention he had ever received at one time from the man and he hated to sour the mood worse than it already was, but there was no way out of this without being deceitful.

"Well... That is... That is Leo Strongarm," he answered hesitantly. "He came as my companion, not at the request of the temple."

"Your companion?" his father asked, giving him a hard look. "Someone like that?"

"Father?" he asked in confusion.

"I can see your blush, boy. Don't mistake me for a fool," Ervander said harshly. "I understand what you mean by companion. I would say that I'm disappointed in your preference, but I doubt that my word has any sway with you or Groben since those priests filled your heads with all of their nonsense. But honestly, if you must make a mockery of your family name, does it have to be with some low class backwater no one?"

The sting of his father's harsh words caused tears to pool in the corners of his eyes, but that was not what made the blonde speak up. He was used to the man saying rude things about him, but he would not stand for someone picking on his lover.

"Leo is a really amazing person," Korrin protested. "He doesn't have to be rich."

"You're more worthless than your sisters with that trash you've decided to attach yourself to," Ervander pressed.

"Stop it!" the boy exclaimed, uncharacteristically angry. "You're the one who's trash!"

At that moment, his father's expression went from upset to a level of anger that Korrin had never seen before, and the boy felt terror wash over him. He had crossed a line. His father, lord of this land, had absolute power here and he had no right to talk back to him, let alone to call him names. This was a major breach of conduct and he was not sure what would happen next.

Before the blonde could move, his parent had grabbed a decorative riding crop off of his desk and raised it before striking Korrin in the arm with it. The boy let out a cry of pain and grabbed the freshly sliced open spot, too shocked to even think of trying to heal it. He had never been struck by either of his parents before. You had to actually pay attention to someone to beat them.

The man raised the crop to hit him again, causing Korrin to look down in fear, when suddenly a shadow came between him and his father.

"That's enough," Leo said confidently, moving to protect his boyfriend. "Don't touch him."

Korrin looked up in surprise, not sure when the redhead had come into the room, but now just as afraid for his lover as he was relieved that he was not being hit with the riding crop again.

"He's my son and this is my land," Ervander practically growled at the sixteen year old. "Get out of my way!"

He struck Leo with the riding crop, but the young paladin merely grabbed the offending item and wretched it from the man's grasp. He tossed it aside and shoved Ervander back into his desk.

"If you ever lay another hand on Korrin again, so help me it will be the last thing you ever do," he threatened in a low, dangerous tone.

Though he was steaming mad, Ervander could tell that he was outmatched in strength and wisely did not move.

"Leave my home," he said. "Both of you."

Korrin quickly pulled on Leo to get him to move, but the redhead never turned his back on his lover's father. He walked to the door and shut it once they were both outside.

"Are you alright?" Leo asked, grabbing Korrins chin gently and tilting it up so that he could look at him.

"I'm fine," Korrin replied, though honestly he was shaking and he could not tell if it was from fear or from anger. He could not believe that his father had struck Leo and he felt angry to his very core, so much so that it almost made him feel sick. "Let's just get our things and go back to the temple."

-o-o-o-

Two hours later

-o-o-o-

The two started to head out the front door when they were suddenly interrupted by Korrin's mother coming into the entry hall.

"Korrin," she said. "I just spoke with your father. I don't care what's going on between you and him, you will attend your sister's wedding. I won't hear any excuses from either of you. I've already arranged everything and I will not have the family that cannot even make it to an important event. Do you understand me?"

"Mother... I... I don't think Father will stand for that," Korrin said hesitantly.

"He'll stand for whatever I say he will," Delila informed her youngest son. "And you will, as well. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," he responded. "Goodbye, Mother."

"I will see you in one month," she reminded him. "Not a day late."

"Yes, ma'am," he repeated before leaving the house entirely.

-o-o-o-

Two hours later

-o-o-o-

After a while of riding back towards Luskan at a fairly slow pace for two men on horses, Korrin spoke up.

"I'm very sorry for everything," he said. "I... I knew that my father would not approve of us, but I didn't imagine that he would actually hit you..."

Leo shook his head.

"I can take a hit, Korrin," he informed him. "Don't fuss over me."

"I can't help it," the blonde replied. "I just... I feel like I hate him right now for that..."

Leo pulled his horse in front of Korrin's so that his horse would have to stop.

"Stop that," he scolded. "It's not like you. Don't let someone else have that kind of power over you, especially someone as worthless as that. How's your arm?"

The younger boy looked down at his arm. He had forgotten to attend to it with all of the commotion and it actually hurt quite a bit, but he was not about to worry Leo more than he already clearly was.

"I'll live," he answered, putting on a smile for his lover's sake.

"You need to take better care of yourself," the redhead stated, shaking his head. "You know how to heal. Heal your arm."

Korrin nodded and started to do that, so focused on the task that he almost missed it when Leo spoke next.

"I'm sorry that I allowed you to get hurt," he said in a low tone. "I should have kept a better watch over you. I came with you to protect you and you still got hurt."

The blonde looked back up in surprise.

"Leo, it's not your job to protect me from my father," he protested. "I'm okay. Don't blame yourself for that."

"It is, though," he disagreed. "It's my job to protect you from any harm. I swear to you that it will never happen again. As long as I live, I will never allow harm to come to you again if I can prevent it."

Korrin laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, not sure what to say.

"That's a bit grand of a promise, don't you think?" he asked, trying to tease him a little and take the seriousness from the situation.

His joke was met with a small glare before Leo brought his horse back to walk again, the blonde quickly following suit.


End file.
